A visitor from Iowa arrested last year in a golf cart drunk driving case has dodged a driving under the influence conviction after hiring a lawyer from a notorious case in The Villages.
Austin Oliver Shane, 34, was living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, when he was arrested Nov. 26 when he was driving a golf cart that strayed onto State Road 44 near Brownwood. He appeared to be intoxicated and “had to use his left hand to brace himself on the golf cart” during a traffic stop, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. He “stumbled” and was “unable to keep an upright posture.” An officer asked Shane to take part in field sobriety exercises, but he refused. He also refused to provide a breath sample.
Last week in Sumter County Court, Shane pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of reckless driving. Shane, who has relocated to Chicago, has been placed on probation for one year and was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
Shane was represented by attorney Andrew Moses who made headlines in 2019 when he successfully defended Timothy Jacob Foxworth, who escaped with a probation sentence in connection with the death of Shelly Osterhout. She had been a passenger in a golf cart Foxworth was driving after a night of drinking at Brownwood. He was at the wheel of his parents’ golf cart when he made an abrupt U-turn and Osterhout, who was in The Villages visiting her father, fell out and suffered a fatal head injury. Foxworth was seen dragging her body into a flower bed and arrested after fleeing the scene. Foxworth was charged with driving under the influence and DUI manslaughter.
However, Moses skillfully used case law to show that his client could not be charged in the “crash” because there was no accident. The prosecutor’s office admitted that Foxworth could not be tried as he had been charged and that Florida has no “Good Samaritan” law that would have required Foxworth to remain at the scene and render aid.
Foxworth pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of culpable negligence and DUI impairment. He was sentenced to one year of probation and 50 hours of community service.
